Planners of the annual economic summit say the event will be
short on lengthy presentations and long on details.
The summit, being organized by the Great Falls Development
Authority, is set for Dec. 13 at the University of Great Falls
Theater. The session, open to the public, begins at 1 p.m. A summary
and question-and-answer session is scheduled for 4:35 p.m.
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It will be the second year
for the economic gathering, which attracted about 250 people last
year.
"There will be enough new information that even if they went last
year, they will want to show up again this year," said Richard Owen,
part of a committee helping organize the GFDA event.
The key presentation will come from Dr. Larry Swanson, director
of the Center for the Rocky Mountain West in Missoula. Swanson will
look at the Great Falls economy and how it fits into the
international, national and Montana scene.
Swanson was an important part of the first summit last year. John
Kramer, president of the GFDA, said he expects Swanson to have a
more detailed look at the Great Falls economy.
"He's more focused to the real world this year," Kramer said.
Owen, executive vice president of the Montana Grain Growers
Association, will discuss the agricultural sector and value-added
opportunities.
Other industry presentations will include looks at the medical,
tourism and military sectors. Sessions on the construction and
retail industries are also on tap.
Additional topics include the effort to attract primary sector
jobs to Great Falls, the status of the coal-fired generation plant
that could be built east of the city and an update on activity at
the Great Falls International Airport.
There will be talk about money as well. Cari Yturri, a Great
Falls auto dealer, will lead a session on "investments that must be
made for our economic future."
The biggest addition to the line-up will be discussion of the
retail environment. Trevor Swenson, the manager of Scheels
Allsports, will discuss why his company has plans to build a new
store in Great Falls. A representative from Wal-Mart also will talk
about the company's plans for a second store in the Electric City.
The retail segment is intended to highlight recent growth and
generate talk of "how we can stem this outflow of our retail
dollars," Kramer said.
Owen said the summit also will include a segment on how Great
Falls stacks up economically with other comparable cities in the
region.
Organizers say efforts are being taken to have lively
presentations. Using the UGF theater also will mean there will be
more seats available.
"It's going to be a better show, a better presentation," Kramer
said.
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